It seems that no matter where he goes or who he fights, controversy surrounds Jay Hieron.

In his most recent bout this past Friday at Legacy FC 12, Hieron had seemingly defeated Romario Manoel de Silva two minutes into the second round of their bout, but as he points out, once again, things don’t appear so cut and dry.

“It was a little controversial at the end, but I’m always in controversial fights, and my life is controversial, so it’s nothing new,” said Hieron. “Obviously I felt I had the choke sunk in deep. I thought the guy was out. He wasn’t moving and the ref was asking him if he was okay and he never responded.

“The ref was asking him if he was okay, and he wasn’t responding. The ref was trying to grab him, and he wasn’t doing anything. Nine times out of 10, I have that choke sunk in; I’ve choked people out with it in training. If I had to do it over again, I would have done the same thing, because he was done.”

The bout was ruled a technical submission in Hieron’s favor when referee Kevin Hancock called a halt to the fight.

Controversy aside, for Hieron, just to be able to get back in the cage after 10 months following a split from Bellator was a welcome happening and a testament to his drive to continue to compete.

“I’m happy I’ve kept my head in the game,” he said. “I’ve been through ups and downs, and somehow I wake up every day and push myself to get into the gym. It’s because I have a real love for this sport. That drive and motivation can be real hard to keep if you don’t have fights coming up and when you keep getting the short end of the stick.

“Somehow I stay motivated, positive and keep moving forward. I want to make a good run for it these last few years I have left now.”

For Hieron to be in a positive mind frame is a stark contrast in the weeks following his split-decision loss to Ben Askren at Bellator 56. As Hieron told MMAWeekly.com, coming up short in that title fight has changed his outlook on fighting and what he wants to do with his career from here on out.

“I’ve definitely moved on,” he said. “After the fight I was a little down and stuff like that, but if you hold onto stuff like that, you’ll never move on in life. I had to let that go and push it behind me. I’m ready to see where the journey goes.

“It’s not a sprint; it’s a marathon; that’s what I take it as. I have a new mindset with my career and am just going to have fun with it and just let things fall into place and see what happens. I’ve had enough stress. I’m healthy right now – which is the most important thing – I’ve got a great group around me, a great team, and I’m taking it one day at a time.”

Healthy and with a positive outlook on his career, Hieron is eager to finish out the rest of 2012 with a flurry.

“Every time I try to bring it,” he concluded. “That’s what the fans get to look forward when I fight. I’ve been getting a lot of from all people who have been watching me, and I appreciate it. I do my best to prepare myself 100 percent and do what I do when I get in there.”